Archives by: Gary Hoag

So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-5

“Once again He preaches by example, by what He did. In the presence of the disciples, who are arguing out of pride and vanity, Jesus bows down and gladly carries on with the task of a servant… This tactfulness of our Lord moves us deeply. He does not say, “If I do this, how much more ought you to do it? He puts Himself at their level, and in so doing, He lovingly chides these men for the lack of generosity.”

Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in Friends of God: Homilies by Josemaría Escrivá (Sinag-Tala Publishers, 1977) 103.

We serve a God who lovingly chides us. He does not beat us up for our lack of generosity. He models the way for us, graciously and humbly.

This serves as a timely lesson for me as host of the GTP Global Gathering 2024 in Turkey. I must model the precise behavior and set the example that I want people to follow.

How does this relate to your situation? Who do you serve? Who is watching you? What example are you setting for them to follow?

While I have fully present and focused on those I am serving here in Turkey, I am prayerful for my parents who have a hurricane headed right toward them.

May God strengthen us here in Istanbul and around the world to set good example. And may He protect those in danger or distress and deliver them from their troubles.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. They replied, “Let one of us sit at your right and the other at your left in your glory.” “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said. “Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?” “We can,” they answered. Jesus said to them, “You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Mark 10:35-42

“[Today’s Scripture] records the petition of the sons of Zebedee that they might be given the first place in the new kingdom. When the other disciples discovered this ambition of theirs, they were indignant with the two brothers. It was not, in all likelihood, the unusual character of the request that annoyed them. It was probably rather because they all felt that each one of them had an equal or better claim than James and John to fill such a top position. Jesus knew the ambition of those who were to be the foundation stones of His Church. He tells them that they cannot behave like those princelings who oppress and lord it over their subjects. The authority of the Church will be very different from this: quite the opposite, in fact, whoever would be great among you much be your servant and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. This is a new kind of lordship, a new way of ‘being great’. And our Lord shows them the grounds for this new dignity and the reason for it: for the Son of man also came not be be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 445.

What do you want me to do for you? These words of Jesus stood out to me.

Today about 60 people convene from 30 countries in Istanbul. It will be amazing. We will do an activity (facilitated by a complex algorithm) so they all get to know each other.

And they don’t know it yet, but they will have fun doing a values activity.

They will come together as strangers, and in Jesus name, leave as likeminded servants who all have the Spirit of God within them and who discover their shared values.

These are the 10 values of GTP.

Christian commitment, listening, humble service, global diversity, partnership, biblical teaching, empowerment, transparency, accountability standards, and sustained interdependence.

Learn more about them here.

The exercise aims to remind us all what knits us together and to focus not on personal aspirations, like the sons of Zebedee, but to focus on our service together where God has us.

Thanks for your prayers for a rich day.

I am hearing Jesus ask me this question – What do you want me to do for you? – And in reply I am saying, “forge relationships through which the Spirit produces unimaginable fruit.”

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3

“Christ has promised eternal happiness to those who are faithful to Him. They will hear the voice of the Lord whom they served on earth, telling them. Come O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. All we renounce in order to follow Christ more closely, or the little we suffer for Him is rewarded on hearing these words of welcome as we enter into eternity. Jesus himself leads us into heaven. Although we follow Christ for love, a moment may come when everything is suddenly somehow more difficult. Then is the time for us to utter some aspiration that will help us think of the prize. It is worth while, let us remind ourselves, it is worth while, it is worth while. So our hope will be strengthened and our way becomes more assured.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 445.

It is worth while. I am telling myself this today.

I want the words on my tongue to remind those whose visas have been rejected and who have been hindered from attending the GTP Global Gathering in Istanbul.

This rejection strengthens my resolve to use my USA passport to serve these people.

Today, I mourn that workers from Rwanda, Ghana, Benin, Pakistan, and Togo have been hindered from attending. These workers needed to attend as much as anyone.

Perhaps your life has gotten suddenly somehow more difficult?

In that moment, we cannot give up. I am tempted all the time. We cannot give in to the temptation. We cannot grow weary and lose heart.

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. https://biblehub.com/proverbs/19-17.htm

“The gold that you plan to lend, give it to Me, for I will give you better interest and better security. That body that you plan to enlist in someone else’s militia, enlist it in mine, because I will outbid everybody in pay and reward… His love is great. If you wish to make him a loan, He is ready to receive it at lavish interest. If you wish to sow, He buys you the seed. If you wish to build, He says; build on my property! Why run after the things of men, who are your beggar and are worth nothing? Run after God, who for exchange for little things will give you far greater.”

John Chrysostom in Homily’s on St. Matthew’s Gospel 76.4

Our Global Gathering begins today. Board members and staff gather from around the world for renewing relationships and learning. The first day is all about board and staff development.

In anticipation of a day of learning, in my daily office, my quiet time, I came across this sermon by John Chrysostom. It seemed fitting because of an email I got yesterday.

The email came from a friend who wants to challenge his colleagues at Kingdom Capital Fund to dig deep, to share richly, and to build a large matching gift to inspire others.

As I prayed for him this morning, and for our day here in Istanbul, I thought of the words of Chrysostom. Whether it’s the givers to KCF or the board and staff of GTP, we all need to run after God and give him our little things.

Whatever we have, when we give it to Him, results in a far greater return. We see more impact, we experience more blessing, we motivate more service, we inspire more generosity.

I pray that everyone reading this will give what they have to God. Quit being in God’s audience and join His army. Enlist today. And if you wish to build, build in the geography of His Kingdom which has no end.

Many will convene in Istanbul, in part, because of what God did when I gave my life to Him. In building a vision to spread accountability in nations it has unleashed unfathomable generosity in even hard places.

Read the post again. then think what little things you can give to God. In return, get ready for far greater things than you could ever have asked for or imagined.

“But if I go to the east, He is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find Him. When He is at work in the north, I do not see Him; when He turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of Him. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.” Job 23:8-10

“It is worthwhile following the Lord, to be faithful to Him in every moment, to give up everything for His sake, to set no limit to our generosity where He is concerned… We should not forget that, to the reward He promises, our Lord adds persecutions. Persecutions are also a reward for the disciples of Christ. It is the disciple’s glory to imitate His Master, to suffer with Him in order that he may may also be glorified with him. These trials can come in the most diverse of forms: bloody persecution, slander, prejudice, job discrimination, mockery… we should, when they come, grasp the fact that we can turn them to good, which is part of our reward, since God allows us to share in His cross and be more closely united to Him.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 444-445.

When we give our lives in service to our Lord, one of the benefits we receive is persecution.

I am learning in real-time the gift of sharing in the cross of Christ. It’s hard. It’s not right. But I am seeing character come out in the lives of people that can only appears as gold from a refiner’s fire.

The world has started to convene for GTP meetings in Istanbul, but not everyone has been able to come.

Workers from many countries, which will remain unnamed, could not get visas to attend. I see injustice and discrimination, and yet I witness the humility with which many faithful disciples suffer.

It reveals to me an area for growth in my own faith and the limits to my own generosity needing removal.

If you lived in a place where the Lord and His hand cannot be seen or found in the north, south, east, or west, would your way stand the test. It’s easy settings like USA, though the persecution has started.

Today, I challenge you to locate your limits. What are you willing to give or endure for the Lord?

Then ponder what needs to change so that you identify with Christ through solidarity with those who suffer war, injustice, slander, prejudice, and other pain.

For me, I sense a call to respond to calls to multiply stewards in places like Pakistan, Nepal, and India.

I believe, in so doing, their lives will teach me things I could never learn anywhere else about the blessing of the refining fire of suffering. With what suffering persons can you identify with solidarity?

Be careful, then, how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:15-16

“[Life] only lasts a couple hours: our reward is boundless, and even if there were no reward at all but to follow the counsels given us by the Lord, to imitate His majesty in any degree would bring us a recompense immeasurable.”

St. Teresa of Ávila in The Way of Perfection 2.7.

How will you spend the next couple hours?

Many will spend them on themselves. Some, alternatively, will spend them on others. The best place to spend them is following the counsels given us by the Lord.

This leads some to care for grandchildren and others to carry the gospel to faraway places.

One seems mundane and the other exotic. But both fit the pattern that our majesty desires. The counsels call us not to aim to be served but to serve in our couple hours.

I am serving this week in Istanbul: convening 60+ GTP servants from 30+ countries.

The new header photo features the view from the top floor of the hotel where our meetings will take place in Old Town.

Pray for safe travel with people arriving today, tomorrow, and Monday from all over the world.

It’s a strategic meeting that aims to multiply stewards to spread impact in their countries. But those who watch their grandchildren does the same thing, shaping the next generation.

Whether you are in Turkey or making a turkey sandwich for your grandson, do it for God.

When we give our couple hours to the Lord, He has us do a wide range of things. Each task has a range of difficulty and prominence, but all are equally important.

If God gives you a couple more hours today, serve generously in keeping with His counsels.

Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ Luke 15:27

“If the return of a son who had betrayed him is enough for him to prepare a banquet, what will He have in store for us, who have tried to remain always at his side?”

Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in Friends of God: Homilies by Josemaría Escrivá (Sinag-Tala Publishers, 1977) 309.

In the famous account, known widely as the prodigal son, the father throws a banquet to celebrate the homecoming of his wayward son.

Escrivá dreams about what God has in store for those who remain at His side.

The return will be unfathomable for sure. And we can count on it too because of what the text says a few verses later.

“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”

Think about that. Everything our Father in Heaven has belongs to us as we remain with Him. What a return for our humble perseverance!

He sees our service and sacrifices and promises everything we need in His service.

When this posts Jenni and I will still be on the longest flight that departs from Denver. It’s about 13 hours to Istanbul.

I’d appreciate your prayers for safe and uneventful travel.

And also pray for a great GTP Global Gathering with 60+ board members, staff, regional facilitators, country coordinators, and course moderators from 30+ countries.

I believe God has unimaginable blessings in store for us as we convene to pray, fast, and confess our dependence on Him together.

“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. Mark 10:29-30

“Try to find on earth anyone who repays so generously.”

Josemaría Escrivá (1902-1975) in The Way (Strongsville: Scepter, 1992) 670.

Someone recently asked me if I had any money in investments.

I replied that my wife and I live on a mina (three month’s income), and that we invest the rest in place which that offers a guaranteed one hundredfold return.

Immediately, he argued regarding the impossibility of such a return.

At that point I quoted this verse and added that I trust the person who said this with my life, because his name is Jesus.

“Try to find on earth anyone who repays so generously.”

Jenni and I head to Istanbul today. We cashed in miles for her ticket and GTP will cover mine as I lead meetings with 60+ stewards coming from 30+ countries.

Pray for safe travel and visas for those still waiting for them. Thanks.

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:25-33

“We cannot reconcile a love for God which means following him closely with attachment to material goods. Those two loves cannot be contained in the same heart. Man can direct to God the material things he uses as a means to his final end – which is God – for a means is precisely what they are. But he can also, unfortunately, place all his hopes of fulfillment and happiness in material riches, in the unbridled desire to hold on to favorite goods, to seek out greater luxury, to enjoy maximum comfort, to foster ambition, and give rein to avarice…

Today can provide a good occasion for examining ourselves courageously in the intimacy of our prayer. What is the true motivation of my actions? What is my heart really set upon? Have I really tired to be detached from earthly goods, or on the contrary, do I suffer and complain when I am short of something I could be doing with? How quick am I to react against the slightest incitement to self-seeking and ease, promoted very often by the advertisements of the consumer society?

Am I sparing in my personal needs, do I put curbs on my extravagance, do I avoid frivolous and unnecessary purchases? Sometimes we can create false necessities which we could well forgo if we wanted to, if we were determined to do our best not to give in to the whims and caprices which so easily solicit our greed. Do I really look after the material things of my home and the implements and goods I use? Have I the clear realization that I am only a steward over these things, and will one day have to give an account of them to their true master, God our Lord?

Do I cheerfully accept whatever inconveniences me and the lack of means at my disposal? Am I generous in giving alms to those who are in much worse circumstances? Do I contribute to the support of good causes, depriving myself of things I would like to have? Only in this way will we live with the joy and freedom necessary if we are to be disciples of our Lord in the midst of the world.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 438-439.

As I was reading this book that I am loving so much, I was struck by the series of questions that Fernandez put before me, so I shared them with you.

Read the post again and sit in whatever question the Lord leads you to linger. Do you need to put up curbs or guard against any caprices today?

The time to prepare to give an account for your stewardship is today. The time to give is today. The time to steward wisely is always today. Steward like there is no tomorrow.

“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Matthew 19:20

“God’s call to us to follow Him closely demands a positive response at all times, because in His many invitations He asks of us a docile and generous lifelong correspondence. Therefore we should stand frequently in God’s presence – face to face with Him, without anonymity – and ask him as did the young man. What do I still lack? What does my Christian vocation desire of me today in any circumstances? Whoever really wants to find them succeeds in knowing clearly the paths that lead to God.”

Francis Fernandez in In Conversation with God: Meditations for Each Day of the Year, volume 3 (London: Scepter, 1990) 437.

My wife has a fortnightly post called, Spigot. Subscribe here. It’s wonderful.

Today her post coincides with this one so I direct you to read it. Each post she does has a one word theme, and “broken” is the theme of her post. That thought syncs well with “What do I still lack?”

God wants us to enjoy “a docile and generous lifelong correspondence” with Him.

He wants us to stand frequently, daily, with Him. On the way, He shows us things, areas where He wants to heal us and shape us into mature and generous stewards. So try this. Sit with this question. “What do I still lack?”

Ask the Spirit to speak to you. Listen closely, and act accordingly.

It’s good to be home, to sit quietly with the Lord. and experience the love of His presence, the kindness of His provision, and the generosity of His mercy. And I pray each of us receptive when He tells us what we lack.